Derek Shelton probably isn’t old enough to wear the label “baseball lifer,” but he also won’t be confused with the younger breed of managerial hopefuls competing for the eight open spots across MLB.
The 49-year-old Twins bench coach is among the five known candidates for the Mets’ vacancy, joining Joe Girardi, Carlos Beltran, Mike Bell and Luis Rojas. Of that group, only Girardi has previous big-league managing experience, but Shelton spent the past two seasons as a top lieutenant in Minnesota — first for Paul Molitor and then for Rocco Baldelli, who won 101 games this year as a rookie manager.